When was the first candy bar invented and what was the name of it?
The first chocolate bar is said to have been created in 1847 by Joseph Fry at Joseph Fry & Son in Bristol, England. Fry discovered a method for mixing melted cacao butter into defatted (also called "Dutched") cocoa powder. Sugar was then added to create a paste that could be pressed into a mold. The resulting solid chocolate bar, later called Fry’s Chocolate Cream Bar, marked the beginning of chocolate in bar form.
John Cadbury of Birmingham, England created a similar product in 1849. However, the bittersweet chocolate bars of neither Fry nor Cadbury would be considered very palatable by today’s standards. Then in 1875, Swiss chocolate pioneers Henri Nestle and Daniel Peter created the more palatable milk chocolate.
In 1879, Swiss confectioner Rodolphe Lindt took the idea a step further. He began adding cocoa butter back to the chocolate which produced a bar that not only would hold its hardened shape but also would melt upon the tongue
At the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, German chocolate-making machinery on display caught the eye of Milton S. Hershey. He installed the chocolate machinery in his Lancaster, Pennsylvania factory and produced the first American-made milk chocolate bar in 1900.
Below are the creation dates of some beloved chocolate candy treats:
1900 Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar
1916 Clark Bar
1923 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups1923 Butterfinger
1923 Milky Way
1925 Kandy Kake (later renamed Baby Ruth)
1925 Oh Henry!
1925 Mr. Goodbar
1930 Snickers
1932 3 Musketeers Bar
1933 Kit Kat
1938 Nestle’s Crunch
